Fin Rot???

[Fifi]

I have a Veiltail in a 5.5g filtered, heated (80), still unicycled tank. He is dark in color (red & blue), fins have always had a dark border (not sure if that's natural or not). His fins started looking ragged, & he got a pin hole in the anal fin which ended up tearing to the edge. It never healed. I treated with 5 days of MarcynII. No improvement. Waited a week & treated with 1tsp/g aquarium salt w/ 50% water changes every other day re-adding 50% salt w/ each change. No improvement. Fins con't yo worsen. It looks like pieces fall off. I have never seen him tail bite. He is energetic & eats well (Omega pellets 3/day, fasting once/wk.). I have attached a picture. Is this fin rot? Any ideas how to treat? I keep water very clean & test often since tank is unicycled. Please help!

[callistra]

Yeah it's fin melt from chronic bad water. What kit are you testing with?

The meds toasted whatever cycle you had going on so you'll have to start over once he's well. However for now you should do two water changes a week - one 50% and one 100% which includes a thorough rinsing of gravel and decor. Water changes should include using the in tank thermometer to match tank temp exactly and water should be premixed in gallon jugs (like water jugs from grocery store) or clean new buckets with conditioner before your fish sees this water. 100% change should include an acclimation period an hour where you float in a little plastic solo type cup inside the main tank and add a few tablespoons of new water to the cup ever 10min.

If you want to try salt again you can at 1 tsp per gallon (so 5 tsp predissolved) for 10 days (how long did you treat before?) or you can look for an antibiotic like Kanaplex, Triple Sulfa or Furan 2 and dose according to package for 1-2 weeks and until the rot is all gone and you see new growth.

Stress coat at 1 ml per 1 gallon, or fresh water vitachem at 2 drops per gallon will also help with regrowth.

[Fifi]

I use API ammonia test kit & Tetra easy strips (for nitrite, nitrate, chlorine). I change the water 50-75% every day to two day since this started, & have always used pretreated (Prime) heated to correct temp water. I can't imagine how the water could possibly be that bad in a 5g with that much changing. How long should I con't the gravel/decor cleaning & 100% chgs? The Prime already has a slime coat in it. Should I still use Stress coat too? Also, if I try another antibiotic should I do all the gravel cleaning or will the antibiotic kill all the bad bacteria? Last time I treated w/salt it was for 10 days.

[callistra]

Maracyn II toasted your cycle so at this point it's up to you if you want to try salt again or antibiotics but I don't have any further suggestions.

[Fifi]

Thanx Callistra. I really appreciate your advice!